Information technology has provided numerous options to
individuals, governments, and corporations around the world. These
options demand that choices be made, and such choices often involve
ethical decisions. Users must decide, for example, whether certain
data should be made available on the Internet, whether the
information contained in various databases should be sold to third
parties, and whether software developers should be held responsible
for social and economic problems that result from their programs.
This book provides a rigorous but accessible discussion of some of
the major ethical issues concerning computers and information
technology. The text gives particular attention to widespread
issues concerning intellectual property rights, censorship, and
privacy, along with less frequently raised topics, such as ethical
worries about image manipulation, virtual reality, and the moral
status of intelligent machines and expert systems. Computers and
information technology have created numerous options for their
users. Individuals, governments, and corporations around the world
must decide whether a particular technology or application should
be used, how it should be employed, and toward what end. Sometimes
such decisions may be based on purely economic or personal
considerations. For example, a user might feel more comfortable
with a particular word processing software, and a company might
decide that a particular spreadsheet package meets all of its needs
at a lower cost than competing products. But decisions concerning
computer and information technology also involve ethical issues.
Companies must determine whether it is an ethically correct
objective to save money by replacing workers with technology.
Courts and governments must decide whether it is ethical to censor
communication on the Internet, or require software developers to
have liability for social ills caused by use of their products, or
for corporations to collect and sell information about individuals
and their habits. This volume provides a rigorous but accessible
philosophical examination of ethical issues related to computers as
information processing machines. Special attention is given to
questions of intellectual property, censorship, and privacy, for
these issues are continually raised in the popular press and are
central ethical concerns. But the book also considers ethical
worries about image manipulation, virtual reality, the use of
expert systems, and the moral status of intelligent machines. Some
of the moral questions discussed have not yet arisen in practical
situations, but these issues should be examined before they become
urgent. While many issues have been omitted, the examinations
within the text help show how additional ethical concerns may be
approached in the future.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
